Nov. 28, 2005

Box Score
Postgame Press Conference Audio

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Curtis Withers had 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to lead Charlotte past Portland 59-46 on Monday.

De'Angelo Alexander added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Marcus Bennett scored 13 points as the 49ers (3-3) won their second straight despite shooting 38 percent, including 4-for-23 from 3-point range.

Pooh Jeter and Darren Cooper scored 13 points apiece for the Pilots (1-5), who shot 30 percent in their third straight loss.

Withers, who recorded his fifth double-double in six games, scored the first eight points in a 10-0 run to start the second half and give Charlotte a 32-22 lead. Portland, which committed four turnovers in the spurt, fought back to cut the lead to six points on three different occasions, but could get no closer.

After Charlotte missed 17 of its first 19 3-point attempts, Bennett hit back-to-back 3s to put Charlotte ahead 47-35 with 6:20 left. The 49ers, who have made 8-of-53 3s in their two home games, made up for it by holding a 50-29 rebounding advantage.

Charlotte grabbed the game's first eight rebounds and Portland missed its first seven shots as the 49ers took an 8-1 lead on Withers' bucket in the paint.

The 49ers built a 20-10 lead, but the Pilots, who trailed by as many as 40 points in a 77-46 loss at Winthrop on Saturday, rallied thanks to Charlotte's poor shooting.

Jeter had six points in a 10-2 run to end the half. Donald Wilson's putback at the buzzer tied the game at 22, giving Portland a chance in coach Michael Holton's return to Charlotte. He was the first point guard of the expansion Charlotte Hornets in 1988.

NOTES (Supplied by Charlotte 49ers Sports Information):
With 16 rebounds, Curtis Withers became the seventh player in 49er history to pull over 750 career rebounds. He now ranks 7th all-time with 752 career boards.

Withers has posted four straight double-doubles and five in the 49ers' six games this year. He leads the team with a 19.2 scoring average and a A-10 best 12.0 rebounding average.

Withers' 16 rebounds are a career-high, besting his old mark of 15 set against #25 Marquette in last year's 76-66 road win and matched in the Niners game at Wyoming earlier this year.

De'Angelo Alexander notched his first double-double with 16 points and a career-best 13 rebounds.

Marcus Bennett hit double figures for the first time in his 49er career, scoring 13 in 19 minutes played.

Senioir Chris Nance, who leads the team with four charges taken, hit 2-of-3 shots for four points, with five rebounds, two blocks and one charge taken.

Portland shot .304 from the field -- the second time this season that Charlotte has held an opponent under 35% shooting (Coppin State, .343)

The 49ers host Davidson, Wednesday night, in the annual battle for the Hornet's Nest Trophy and bragging rights in Mecklenburg County. The game is slated to begin at 8:00 p.m. as game two in a 49ers hoops doubleheader. The 49ers women face Florida in game one, at 5:30 p.m.